Last Updated on March 7, 2016
Note from Marc:
The pasta in this dish cooks twice, so be sure to undercook it when you first boil it. Then when it bakes in the parchment, it will absorb all the briny, garlicky, wine-soaked, chile-flecked juices from the seafood. That’s how you create flavor! It also helps to use fresh scallions from the farmers’ market. Better yet, use ramps when they are in season. You can also replace the clams with cockles and serve this with grated Parmesan if you like.
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound refrigerated extruded Spaghetti, or 12 ounces boxed dried spaghetti
8 tablespoons olive oil
4 scallions, trimmed and top quarter removed, sliced crosswise
4 cloves garlic, smashed
50 to 60 small clams, scrubbed
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup water
½ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the pasta, quickly return to a boil, and cook until slightly underdone and chewy, 1 to 6 minutes, depending on how long it has been refrigerated (or 7 to 8 minutes for the boxed stuff). Drain the pasta, reserving the pasta water.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the scallions and garlic and cook until soft but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add the clams, wine, pepper flakes, and water. Cover and simmer until the liquid reduces in volume by about half, 5 minutes. When the clams have opened, discard the garlic and any empty clam shells.
Add the drained pasta to the pan along with the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil and the parsley. Cook over medium heat, tossing until the sauce gets a little creamy.
Tear 4 sheets of parchment paper, each about 2 feet long. Place one-fourth of the pasta mixture in the center of each sheet of parchment. Bring the long sides of the parchment up above the pasta so the edges meet. Fold the edges together and keep folding down until tight over the pasta. Flip over and pull each side of parchment over the center to make a tight packet. Flip back over so the folded seam side is up.
Transfer the packets to a baking sheet and bake until the paper browns lightly, 5 to 7 minutes. If you have convection, turn it on to help the paper brown. Transfer to plates and allow guests to slit open the packets lengthwise with a knife.
PREP AHEAD The spaghetti can be made and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days ahead.
Beverage recommendation from Marc:
Scarpetta, Friulano Bianco 2007 (Friuli): This wine is crafted by our close friends Bobby and Lachlan of Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado. It shows off everything that’s great about the grape: mouthwatering acidity, pear and almond flavors, and cleansing minerality that makes it an ideal match for shellfish dishes spiked with garlic.
Marc Vetri
Chef & Owner, Vetri, Osteria, Amis, ALLA SPINA, Philadelphia, PA. Trained in Bergamo, Italy, by some of the region’s most noted chefs, Marc Vetri brings a bold, contemporary sensibility to classic Italian cooking. Within two years of opening his eponymous Philadelphia restaurant, Marc was named one of Food & Wine’s Ten Best New Chefs and received the Philadelphia Inquirer’s highest restaurant rating. In 2005, Marc won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic.”
Marc opened Vetri, his intimate fine-dining restaurant in the heart of Center City Philadelphia in 1998. His outstanding pastas, innovative flavor combinations and artful presentations captured diners’ imaginations and propelled Marc to the forefront of culinary trends.
February 2007, Marc opened Osteria just north of Center City, the perfect place for traditional Italian thin crust pizza, homemade pastas and wood grilled meats and fish. Osteria was nominated for “Best New Restaurant” in 2008 by James Beard Foundation.
In January 2010, Marc opened his third restaurant, Amis, located in Washington Square. Inspired by Rome’s neighborhood trattorias, this smaller but energetic restaurant specializes in small plates such as handcrafted pastas and house cured meats. In November 2010, Bon Appetit named Amis one of the top “10 Places for Pasta” in the country.
Marc’s latest venture, Alla Spina, an Italian gastropub also located on North Broad Street, opened February 2012.
Marc lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Megan, and their three children. He enjoys spending Sundays cooking with his children and teaching them how to make pasta.
He has published two cookbooks: Rustic Italian Food (Ten Speed Press, 2011); il viaggio di vetri (Ten Speed Press, 2008)
